1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a miniature coaxial cable connector interface for interconnecting a standard SMB coaxial connector, used to terminate a coaxial cable, to a printed circuit board having a standard SMB mounting pattern. More specifically, the present invention relates to an interface for such an application that isolates the connector body, and therefore, the outer braid of the coaxial cable, from the printed circuit board.
2. Background Art
It is frequently necessary to connect a coaxial cable to a printed circuit board. In so doing, it is advantageous to be able to disconnect the coaxial cable from the circuit board without having to undo the solder connection. Thus, it is advantageous to be able to connect a coaxial cable to a printed circuit board in a detachable fashion, for instance, by utilizing an interface between the printed circuit board and the coaxial cable terminator or connector. The interface should be solderable to the printed circuit board but also be detachably connectable to a mating coaxial connector attached to a coaxial cable.
Although attachment of a coaxial cable connector to a printed circuit board has been accomplished in a number of ways, it would be especially advantageous to have an interface which could be used with standard SMB components, such as coaxial connectors and printed circuit board mounting patterns. The prior art has been lacking in this regard.
Not only must such an interface be miniature, it must meet adequate performance requirements, such as operation into the gigahertz range. An excellent way to improve the performance of any coaxial device is to increase the degree of isolation between parts. More particularly, it is desirable to increase the degree of isolation between the outer braid of the cable and its attendant circuitry on the printed circuit board, and the center contact of the cable and its attendant strip line conductor located on the printed circuit board. Often times, coaxial connectors designed for printed circuit board use allow the body portion of the connector to rest directly on the circuit board thereby increasing the possibility of electrical connection between the strip line conductor running to the center contact and the other circuitry running to the grounded body portion of the connector.
To date, coaxial connectors for printed circuit board use have not been designed to ensure the necessary degree of isolation between the two conductors in a coaxial system. Thus, an interface that can be used for connecting a standard SMB coaxial connector to a printed circuit board having a standard SMB mounting pattern, that provides for a greater degree of isolation between the printed circuit board circuitry and the interface, and that provides these benefits at lower cost and at smaller scale, would be greatly welcomed.